


bad day

by catbeans



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Trans Hermann Gottlieb, what am i going to do other than project on the gay disabled scientist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-26 01:45:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15653229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catbeans/pseuds/catbeans
Summary: Hermann is having a bad pain day and Newt is able to help with this one.





	bad day

**Author's Note:**

> this is like the third time i wrote this bc i wasnt really feeling it the first two times and im still not sure but WHATever

Hermann was still asleep when Newt woke up.

It wasn't out of the ordinary on mornings where he didn't have anywhere to be, and Newt didn't think anything of it as he stiffly rolled out of bed, wrinkling his nose at the rain pounding against the window. It was chilly enough that he had to grab a sweatshirt after his glasses, and the radiator made a sad, sputtery little sound when he nudged it with his heel on his way out to the kitchen.

He started his coffee, popping a breakfast burrito into the microwave while he waited for the water to gurgle into the pot, and once they were both done, flopped down into a chair and flipped open his laptop. 

He heard the bathroom door close from down the hall a while later, the squeaky hinges of it opening again after another few minutes.

He only realized how long he had been sitting there when he took a sip of suddenly lukewarm coffee and looked up at the clock above the sink.

Newt frowned.

Hermann still hadn't come out yet.

He finished the rest of his coffee with a shudder, leaving his plate in the sink as he went back to their room.

The door was mostly shut, but there was no light coming through, not even the soft yellow of the desk lamp, and Newt stopped himself before he could knock too loudly on the door.

He wasn't the only one still getting migraines.

“Hermann,” he said quietly, pushing the door open just far enough before the hinges would start creaking to shimmy through. “You up?”

The lump on the bed grunted at him.

“You need that migraine stuff?”

The next grunt sounded more like a  _ no, _ before Hermann rolled over with the blankets still pulled up over most of his face to mumble, “It isn't that.”

Newt frowned again.

“Give me a sec.”

He carefully pulled the door shut again before going back to the kitchen.

The microwave could only fit one heating pad at a time, and he started the first one before starting the kettle, scooping some tea into the strainer that looked like Saturn while he waited until he could start the second heating pad.

He balanced them both over his shoulders, the mug in one hand and a small bowl in the other as he went back to their room.

Hermann had only moved to pull a pillow over his head.

“Move over, you’re taking up the whole bed.”

Hermann huffed and shuffled closer to the wall, his hair sticking up in clumps when he pushed the blankets down and rolled onto his front, his face still jammed in the pillow.

“It’s not done steeping yet,” Newt said, setting down the mug and the bowl on the bedside table before climbing in next to Hermann to sit up against the headboard, nudging his side with one of the heating pads. “Where do you want these?”

Hermann turned his head just enough to see that Newt had two of them before gesturing towards his hips.

Newt held the blankets up, laying the heating pads over both of his hips so they met at the small of his back, and he hadn't even gotten the blankets flat again before Hermann wound his arm around Newt’s waist to press his face to the side of his thigh.

It was probably a good thing he had his phone in the pocket on the other side, Newt thought; he had seen enough of these days to know Hermann wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon.

He could only just reach his headphones from the bedside table without jostling Hermann, absently rubbing at the nape of his neck with his free hand as he plugged in his earbuds and eventually clicked on a compilation video of octopuses tricking their researchers.

He was about to start on his third video when he saw the time, scritching at Hermann’s scalp as he said, “Tea’s probably done.”

Hermann groaned against the side of his thigh before slowly pushing himself up, stiffly reaching for the heating pads to jam between his back and the headboard, but Newt nudged him before he could reach over.

“You're gonna spill on me.”

Hermann leaned his head on Newt’s shoulder as he took the strainer out to put it in the bowl, pressing his lips to the side of Newt’s neck before sitting up a little straighter to take the mug.

“Thank you.”

“Like I’d wanna be anywhere near you before you get your caffeine.”

“Don't ruin it,” Hermann mumbled. “Did you--”

“Yeah, it’s got sugar.”

Hermann hummed and scooted a little closer.

Hermann was slow to finish his tea, lifting the mug to his mouth each time like it was made of lead, and he shuffled back down as soon as Newt took the empty mug back.

He didn't move from there for a while.

Newt might have thought he was asleep if he didn't know better, but Hermann’s breathing still felt strained and heavy, wincing with each faint shift, and he frowned as he clicked through the next couple videos until he got to a compilation of huge lizards in Halloween costumes.

He had felt enough in the Drift that he didn't need to wonder about it.

Hermann was stubborn to a fault; it wasn't rare for the bad days to come along after he just didn't know when to call it quits, pushing himself too far until he couldn't anymore, but the stubbornness was still there, and without being able to  _ do _ something with it, it just festered, leaving him feeling irritated and stuck without any distractions or anything to keep him busy.

Newt could relate at least a little even before the Drift.

“Hey, Hermann,” he said, carding his fingers through Hermann’s hair as he paused on a tegu dressed like a cowboy. “My birthday’s coming up…”

“You’re not getting a giant tegu.”

“Buzzkill,” Newt grumbled. “Look at that one, he’s got friends.”

He felt a puff of breath against his hip that sounded close enough to a laugh.

“We should dress up Alan Purring this year.”

“I think you would end up in the ER if you attempted that,” Hermann mumbled.

“It’d be so cute though, I’d go to the ER for that.”

Hermann hummed and pressed his face to Newt’s thigh again.

Newt clicked out of the browser a few videos later to switch over to Tetris, a puzzle game next after he beat his high score, but he hadn't quite gotten all the little pieces to disappear when his phone froze up for a second before going dark.

“Shit, how the hell…” he muttered, only realizing how late it had gotten once he looked over at the clock on Hermann’s desk. “Babe.”

Hermann just grunted and held his arm a little tighter around Newt’s thigh.

“You know you’re just gonna feel worse if you don’t eat anything.”

Hermann huffed, letting go of Newt to roll onto his back a few seconds later.

“You want me to heat those up again?”

Hermann nodded, shifting just enough for Newt to get the heating pads before pulling the blankets up over his head again.

“Right back.”

Newt started the oven, rocking on his heels as he waited for it to heat up before popping in a tray of dinosaur chicken nuggets. It wouldn’t take long enough for it to be worth going back and forth, or bothering Hermann, and he was about to reach for his phone before remembering it had died.

Alan Purring swiped at his hand when he tried to pet him, still leaving him with ten minutes to go; he started the blender for a couple smoothies more for something to do than for actually wanting one, but he still had a few minutes left, and Hermann had looked so tired even just lifting the mug earlier…

_ That _ was something to do.

Newt searched around the cabinets until he found the box of bendy straws, digging through the drawers by the sink for a roll of tape, and he had just finished taping the fourth to the rest of them when the timer went off.

“That piece of shit can try to go to Mars but can’t give me a third arm,” Newt mumbled to himself, almost spilling his smoothie on his shirt as he carefully tried to balance both cups and the plate of chicken nuggets between both hands without getting either blueberries or condiments all over himself.

He had to push the door open with his hip, holding his breath until he made it to the bedside table to set everything down before he swore under his breath.

Hermann pulled the blankets down just far enough to see his eyes. “What?”

“I forgot the heating pads.”

“Just get the instant ones,” Hermann mumbled. “They’re in my--”

“Second drawer?”

“On the right.”

Newt came back over a few seconds later with a couple heating pads in each hand at the same time as Hermann groggily pushed himself up, his eyes narrowing on the smoothie.

“You're going to make a mess with that.”

“I taped it up, it’s fine,” Newt said. “Don’t knock the Frankenstein straw.”

Hermann shook his head to himself as Newt got back into bed, tearing open the first packet so the heating pad would warm up before balancing the plate of chicken nuggets on his lap.

“If this doesn't work,” Hermann said, carefully bending the straw towards him; it just reached from the bedside table if he scooted a little closer to Newt, “you’re changing the sheets.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll change the sheets, just drink your smoothie.”

It  _ did _ work, even if Hermann rolled his eyes when Newt pointed it out, and Newt didn't complain when Hermann mixed the ketchup with the Worcestershire sauce for his chicken nuggets.

Hermann leaned his head on Newt’s shoulder while Newt finished, grumbling under his breath when Newt had to nudge him away to put the empty plate down.

Newt shook one of the other heating pads. “You want another one?”

Hermann nodded and lay down to roll onto his front, folding his arms under his chin. He didn't have to gesture for the same spot as earlier before Newt pushed the blankets down below Hermann’s hips, tugging his pajama pants a little lower; the one time he had tried to be  _ responsible _ and follow the instructions not to put the heating pad directly on Hermann’s skin had only resulted in Hermann looking mildly annoyed and bless-your-heart amused at the same time.

“You've got the best ass,” Newt mumbled, giving it a soft squeeze before sticking the heating pad to his hip and reaching for another one for the other side; he could see enough of Hermann’s face to see him smile just a little. “Good?”

Hermann nodded with a low hum, about to reach for Newt to pull him back down, but Newt reluctantly got up again before he could.

“Gotta get my charger, hold on.”

Hermann had carefully rolled onto his back again by the time Newt got back to the bed, holding the heating pads in place to keep them from slipping until he was settled again. Newt sat back down next to him, one hand in Hermann’s hair with the other clicking through his phone until he made it to a conspiracy theory video about cephalopod being aliens kept secret by government funded scientists.

“Like they'd ever give anyone  _ that much _ funding,” he muttered to himself. “I fucking wish.”

“Mm?”

“If it’s got tentacles it’s an alien, now,” Newt said, holding his phone lower for Hermann to see. “And apparently we’re loaded and not telling anyone about it.”

“As if you would ever be able to keep your mouth shut about that for any amount of money,” Hermann mumbled.  _ “Again.” _

“Yeah, but I was right.”

“I saw that when it first aired,” Hermann said. “I thought you were ridiculous.”

_ “Were,” _ Newt repeated. “That’s a change.”

“Not really.”

Newt snorted and went back to his video.

It wasn't too long before Hermann started shifting uncomfortably again, nudging Newt for him to lean forward so he could take the pillow from by the headboard so he could prop his legs up.

He made it another few minutes, and then the shifting started again.

“Do you need a new--?”

“No,” Hermann said, his voice audibly strained. “They’re fine.”

Newt frowned, but he nodded, wordlessly going back to brushing his fingers through Hermann’s hair.

Hermann turned onto his side a few minutes later, looping his arm around Newt’s thigh with his face pressed to Newt’s hip again, but that didn't last very long either before he sagged onto his back again with a long exhale.

He didn't say anything, but his eyes were closed and lips pursed tight when Newt looked down, still running the backs of his knuckles over the seam of Newt’s sweatpants.

“Newton,” he said quietly, a silent little while later, “darling.”

Newt blinked.

Maybe he had misread that.

“Yeah?”

“Would you do something for me?”

He  _ had _ misread that.

Newt put his phone down, rubbing at the short, prickly hair at the base of Hermann’s skull before sliding down to lie next to him on his side, his fingers brushing above Hermann’s waistband.

“What kinda something?”

Hermann opened one eye just a crack, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards. “That kind of something.”

“You know I would,” Newt murmured, leaning in for a quick kiss before pressing his lips along Hermann’s jaw and down to his neck as he slipped his hand lower. “Hips good like this?”

He could feel Hermann pull in a deep breath before he nodded, inching his legs a little wider apart for Newt’s hand.

It wasn't the first time, but Newt hadn't really gotten it then until Hermann had awkwardly stumbled over an explanation, his cheeks still flushed even after Newt had finished; it didn't really change anything, but it was a break, the endorphins and at least one thing feeling  _ good _ out of everything else that very much didn't giving him some small relief.

It wasn't as if Newt minded even if there wasn't a good reason, anyway.

Newt could quickly feel Hermann getting hard under his fingertips as he rubbed over Hermann’s clit in slow, lazy circles, gradually speeding up when he felt Hermann’s hips twitch; no reason for him to do any of the work.

Hermann let out a faint groan when Newt started moving his fingers faster, his breath hitching when Newt kissed his neck again. He dipped his fingertips a little lower to catch some of the slick before slowly dragging back up to Hermann’s clit, earning him another low sound he could feel under his lips as he started rubbing with a little more pressure.

He could feel as Hermann’s breathing got a little heavier, too, his thighs squeezing around Newt’s hand with a soft whine when Newt pressed his fingers flat at the same time as he nipped at a particularly sensitive spot just above Hermann’s collarbone.

Newt really liked that spot.

He liked how it looked, the curve of Hermann’s neck meeting the faint slope of his clavicle, how it wasn't something everyone else got to see with his shirts always done up to the top button and covered in all those layers, but mostly he liked the way Hermann never failed to get all wobbly as he kept mouthing at it, his thighs trembling slightly and his hand loosely gripping at the front of Newt’s shirt.

Hermann’s hips twitched up against Newt’s fingers before Newt felt him wince, his jaw clenching. Newt circled his fingers a little faster, but it happened again, a third time before he leaned up from Hermann’s neck without slowing down to say, “Wanna put your legs up?”

“I--” Hermann started to say, and it took a second for him to realize what Newt was really asking before he shivered and gave the front of Newt’s shirt a light tug. “I certainly wouldn’t mind.”

Newt grinned and leaned in to kiss him before shoving the blankets down to shuffle to the foot of the bed.

Newt slid his hands across Hermann’s hips with a quick squeeze to his ass as he carefully pulled Hermann’s pajama pants off, laying flat on his belly between Hermann’s legs. He gently lifted Hermann’s knees over his thighs, a couple minutes of shifting around until Hermann nodded at him, his hand still moving slow and heavy to Newt’s hair with another shudder as Newt kissed across from his left hip, lightly rubbing his fingers over Hermann’s clit until he had kissed low enough to replace them with his mouth.

Hermann groaned low in his chest, his fingers twitching in Newt’s hair as Newt pressed his tongue flat before pursing his lips around Hermann’s clit.

_ “Oh,” _ Hermann said softly, sagging back against the last pillow he had left up at the top of the bed with the other propping up his hips, his ankles locking around Newt’s back with another quiet moan.

Newt looped his arms around Hermann’s thighs with a satisfied hum that made Hermann’s fingers twitch again, another hum at a light tug to his hair. He could see Hermann’s breathing getting heavier when he looked up, his eyes half-lidded and unfocused, his cheeks flushed pink. It wasn’t long before his legs were trembling over Newt’s shoulders, his hand sliding down to cup the back of Newt’s head; Newt was careful not to let Hermann’s leg slip as he moved his arm down after giving his thigh a soft squeeze, lightly brushing his fingertips a little below his chin until Hermann nodded with a bit-back whine.

It trailed off into another moan when Newt pressed his middle and forefinger forward, slowly pumping his wrist as he kept sucking at Hermann’s clit, nudging his shoulder up to keep Hermann’s leg comfortably in place when his head dropped back to the pillow with a shaky groan, his thighs tensing at either side of Newt’s head.

Newt kept his hand moving slow and steady, mouthing over Hermann’s clit without any pause or break to the rhythm that had Hermann letting out more of those soft little whines, needy and breathless in a way he never sounded any other time; he would have liked to tease, get himself more of those sounds, but he had a job to do.

Hermann’s fingers tightened in his hair when Newt pulled back slightly, but he clapped his free hand over his mouth with a stammered,  _ “Newton--” _ when Newt eased his ring finger in alongside the first two.

Newt didn't let up on Hermann’s clit as he curled his fingers with each slow pull back, never further than his first knuckle before pressing in again. Hermann’s hand had started trembling in Newt’s hair to match his legs, almost slipping from Newt’s shoulder again, and Newt could tell he was close when he dropped his free hand to Newt’s wrist still curled around the leg that always seemed to give him more trouble with a breathy whine.

The flush had crept a little lower on Hermann’s cheeks when he looked down at Newt, loosely linking their fingers together just before his head dropped back to the pillow again at the same time as his whole body went tense for a few seconds, his fingers tangled tight in Newt’s hair as he shakily rocked up against Newt’s mouth before he slumped flat against the mattress.

Newt didn't stop just yet, lazily mouthing over Hermann’s clit but keeping his fingers still until the last little tremors had melted away to leave him slack and loose, eventually giving Newt’s hair another soft tug to get him to back up.

Newt could feel Hermann’s breath hitch with his lips pressing along Hermann’s belly as he pulled his hand back, wiping his had on the side of his sweatpants before Hermann tugged a little harder and Newt gently lowered Hermann’s legs from his shoulders.

Hermann looked like he had melted when Newt crawled back up next to him, the flush still dusted over his cheeks, his expression more lax than Newt had seen all morning.

He dropped down by Hermann’s side again, keeping a few inches between them; he could just will it down, this wasn't for him, but he could see Hermann smiling again as he moved his hand down in the space between his hip and the front of Newt’s sweatpants.

“Come here,” he said quietly, tweaking at Newt’s waistband to get him to shuffle a little closer, slipping his hand inside as soon as Newt was settled.

He didn't have to tell Newt to cover his hand with his own, still moving slow and heavy, his fine motor control always a little off on those really bad days, no energy for much of anything else.

Newt didn’t mind--mostly the opposite, if anything; Hermann’s hands were so  _ soft _ except for the couple calluses on his right, at the heel of his palm, below his thumb and along the side of his pointer finger, a contrast that never failed to make Newt shiver, just the slightest bit rough. He squeezed his hand around Hermann’s, guiding it up and down a few times before shuffling back just long enough to push his waistband a few inches down his hips, the angle a little easier without any fabric in the way.

Hermann numbly moved his free hand to the front of Newt’s shirt, tugging him close enough to kiss him as he held his hand a little tighter around Newt’s dick, swiping his thumb over the head before Newt pumped his hand back down.

Newt suddenly wished they had more reason than Hermann pushing himself too hard for those lazy, slow mornings in bed; he had half a mind to take an extra day off soon just to give him the excuse, the decision made for him when Hermann tweaked Newt’s bottom lip between his teeth, moving his hand down from the front of Newt’s shirt, trailing his fingers along his side.

He was definitely going to be calling in sick soon.

Newt broke the kiss with a groan when Hermann rubbed his thumb over the head of his dick again on the next downstroke, guiding Newt’s hand a little faster.

There were still only a few inches between them, enough room for Newt to keep from bumping him but still close enough that Hermann didn’t have to reach too far to slide his other hand down Newt’s side, squeezing at his hip before slipping back to knead at his ass; that did it, his hand squeezing tight around Hermann’s with a stammered,  _ “Oh, _ fuck,” only letting go of Hermann’s hand just in time to keep from making a mess on Hermann’s pajamas.

Hermann didn’t move his hand from Newt’s dick until he had slumped onto his back at Hermann’s side, grimacing at the couple thick drops on his palm with a muttered, “Newton,  _ really,” _ when Newt wiped his hand off on the side of his sweatpants again.

“They’re already gross,” he justified, grabbing Hermann’s hand to kiss away the specks of come on his palm before he could protest or tell him to get up for some tissues.

“That’s just obscene,” Hermann said, wiping his hand a few inches above where Newt had before he added, “Take those off, it’s going to get on the sheets.”

“You know you don't have to try so hard to get in my pants now--”

“I’m trying to get you  _ out _ of them because they’re filthy--”

Newt cut him off with a kiss before he could finish, wriggling his sweatpants down his legs to chuck them to the corner.

“I gotta change those anyway,” he said, flicking at a crumb that had managed to stay stuck to the blanket. “I’ll do it later.”

“As long as you actually  _ do--” _

Newt could feel him smiling when he leaned in to kiss him again. “I’ll do it.”

He felt Hermann’s lips moving more than he heard the soft  _ thank you, _ and the tone of it felt like it was about more than changing the sheets.

“Don't worry about it.”

**Author's Note:**

> @hermannsgayhands on tumblr!


End file.
